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DDR3 memory is all the hype
right now, particularly with Intel's X38 chipset making waves. Crucial's entry into the enthusiast class DDR3 memory line the 2GB Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory kit.
78% Rating: 
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Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 |
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Crucial DDR3 Ballistix Overclocked
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| Overclocking Results: |
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Overclocking DDR3
memory is still somewhat of an adventure for us here at PCSTATS because it's
still pretty new. The Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory was installed onto
an Asus BLITZ Extreme (Intel P35 Express/DDR3) motherboard with an Intel Core 2
Duo E6750 processor. Before the overclocking began, the CPU clock multiplier was
first set to 6x so it would not limit the memory.
The Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory would not run
with tight 7-7-7-20 timings, so overclocking tests were only performed at stock
settings. 
Starting at 333 MHz, with loose memory timings, the
Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory speed was overclocked in 5 MHz increments.
Without any problems the memory hit 400 MHz FSB, or 1600 MHz memory operating
frequency, without having to increase the voltage. At 420 MHz FSB the Crucial
Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory would cause the system to crash while running 3D
benchmarks, a clear sign the memory is clocked too high.
Increasing the memory voltage to 1.8V (stock voltage of
the Crucial Ballistix memory) solved that issue and allowed the Crucial
Ballistix PC3-12800 CL8 memory to reach higher.
To get to 430 MHz, the Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800
required a bit more voltage, this time to 1.9V. In the end, the Ballistix
PC3-12800 CL8 memory achieved a maximum overclock of 1780 MHz or 445 MHz.
Anything higher and the memory would not play nice with the system, crashing
here and there. Increasing the voltage didn't seem to help, though PCSTATS did
try as far as 2.2V.
 Prelude to Benchmarks
The details of how the Crucial Ballistix PC3-12800 DDR3
memory test system was configured for benchmarking, including the specific
hardware, software drivers, operating system and benchmark versions are
indicated below. In the second column are the general specs for the reference
platforms this pair of PC3-12800 DDR3 memory is to be compared against. Please
take a moment to look over PCSTATS test system configurations before moving on
to the individual benchmark results.
DDR3 Test Methodology
On Intel
Socket 775 Core 2 Duo test systems, we're only interested in seeing how high we
can go with the DDR3 memory running 1:2, as running with other dividers puts the
overclocking bottleneck elsewhere and not with the system memory. The DDR3 RAM
latency must run at its lowest possible setting, as quick access is more
important to the CPU design. Just for arguments sake, we will also be conducting
overclocking tests to see how high the memory will go with lax timings
(8-8-8-24), although we will only benchmark the system with the tight memory
timings if the memory supports them. In this case, the Crucial Ballistix
PC3-12800 CL8 memory did not.
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| PCSTATS Test System Configurations |
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